Greg

Oh, yeah, riccardelli, those 265's, are those the bullets they originally sold for .444 Marlins? I think I have some of those around somewhere. I forget what size they are. They work ok? Do they expand?

Greg

[This message has been edited by Greg-montana (edited 11-14-2001).]

quote:

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Originally posted by jagtip:
GREG.....I'm sure I'll be tarred and feathered by somebody here for this but I can't see any vast need for extra heavy bullets in the 44 sixgun even though they're all the rage these days.Their advantage is penetration.A hard cast bullet of 240-250 gr. will generally shoot through anything that is normally hunted with a handgun.In fact,elk,moose and grizzly have fallen to it.Therefore,I find little"actual"advantage to them.Just my 2 cents worth.

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Jagtip,

I would be inclined to agree. In the 220-240 range try some of the different bullets. They all are not made the same, some will provide more expansion than others. The same is true for the 41mag. I am interested in the "heavy" bullets but not finding any substantial reason to abandon the old favorites.

mike

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NRA Life Member

America, Love it or LEAVE IT!

I haven't decided which jacketed bullet (if any) I'll use in my next .44 Magnum, but there's no doubt which 240-250-grain cast bullet I'll favor -- I have one of the very first two Ideal 429421 moulds that Lyman made for my friend Elmer Keith (who designed it) and our friend Jack McPhee (who killed a passel of big critters in Alaska with it). Unless Lyman was especially careful to send Elmer the first one and Jack the second one, there's a fifty-fifty chance that mine is the very first Ideal 429421 mould that Lyman cherried.

Bottom line: it's still a superb mould that casts a grand old bullet that doesn't need to be replaced by anything heavier for the spectrum of uses that I'll put it to. My last boar, a 275- to 300-lb brute, quickly fell to ONE of this mould's bullets, about 90 yards from the Redhawk that pointed and launched it (with moderate impetus from about 20 grains of H-240, IIRC -- NOT a maximum load).

The 300 gr XTP is hairsplittingly acccurate in my Redhawk , with 50 yard shots cutting cloverleafs . (scoped)

[This message has been edited by sdgunslinger (edited 11-17-2001).]

They didn't hold any accuracy records in either of my handguns or in my original Ruger carbine.

Didn't go through all the stuff I normally do with a new load, since I was happy with the .44 Mag load that I am currently using.

The Rainiers are a very soft (swaged) lead with a full copper electroplate coating. Midway sell them. I thought I'd given them a try since my Hornday 300's shoot so well in the .44. I've noticed that even 300 gr. hard case seem shoot better than the 240's.

What I'm not sure about is how much taper crimp to give them. These Lee dies will actually start to put what looks to me like a roll type of crimp if you turn them down a bit. I have pulled some of these bullets and they have a definite indentation in the bullet from the end of the case from the crimp. I believe this is too heavy, but am experimenting.

Anyone alse have experience with these Rainier's and taper crimping .44's and .357's without a cannelure?

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[This message has been edited by Trader Jack (edited 02-21-2002).]

Good shooting H

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I am in the same boat. First of all, I think anyone who faces a bear with a 44 mag. is more on a macho trip than using good common sense. Now realize we don�t have a lot of grizzlies in Texas, but my 2 cents worth. Last time I was working on loads I tried Hornady 300 gr. Flat points. They just took the joy right out of shooting! Out of a box of 100 I think I still have 90 or so. If anyone wants them drop me a note because I sure as hell am not going to use them!

My second unqualified opinion is that 44 mag over-penetrates for almost any game you should be shooting with a handgun. For this reason I have been shooting 180gr. XTP as fast as possible. I also like high velocity to extend my shooting range without a lot of aiming compensation.

I became a user of moly-coated bullets in rifles and quickly started using moly in my handgun loads where I find it more of an advantage. I went to jacked bullets over hard cast because of the barrel leading and cleaning hassles. Moly coating jacketed bullets allowed me to increase loads and get slightly more velocity but I am still not totally satisfied with the expansion.

I plan on trying moly coated hard cast bullets. The moly will stop the leading problem and allow me to get the velocity I want in theory. I am hoping a 180-200gr. semi wad cutter hollow point, moly-coated, shooting as fast as possible, should stop inside a 150 pound Texas deer. If any of you pistol pros have any input pro or con I would appreciate your comments.

Vitavory powders have become my best friend in rifles. I plan a major test with them in pistol calibers.

Shoot safe,
Mike